Photo: ACI Sport

Taito Kato will warm up for his rookie FIA Formula 3 Championship campaign with ART Grand Prix by racing for the team in Formula Regional Middle East.

The 18-year-old Japanese racer will contest three rounds out of four in the FIA regional trophy, missing the season finale at Losail on February 11-13 due to it clashing with F3’s sole pre-season test at Barcelona.

It will be Kato’s second time racing in FRME, having also been part of ART GP’s line-up in the Middle East last year. After winning the 2024 French Formula 4 title as a rookie, Kato stepped up to FRegional for a double programme. He came 12th in FRME with one podium, and finished in the top three twice en route to seventh in the FRegional European Championship.

“I’m so excited to be competing in the FRME with ART GP. A new challenge awaits me, but I will give my best performance together with my team,” said Kato.

His last FRegional mileage came two months ago when he contested the FIA FRegional World Cup-awarding Macau Grand Prix with ART GP. In the opening free practice session he was fastest, but could not quite maintain that frontrunning pace. He was eighth in the first qualifying session, fourth in FP2 and Q2, and finished fifth in both the qualification and main race.

ART GP’s team principal Sebastien Philippe said returning to FRME “allows Taito to start his 2026 season in a competitive environment before moving on to his FIA F3 commitments”.

Kato is a Honda junior, and the Japanese automobile manufacturer has announced the 2026 programmes of the other drivers it supports in junior single-seaters.

Kotato Shimbara, who came fourth in Japanese F4 last year with two wins and three poles, will step up to the F3-level Super Formula Lights with B-MAX Racing. The team will run Sho Momose and Kazuma Kurosawa in Japanese F4, with Momose having come sixth in 2025 with two podiums while Kurosawa graduates from the Honda Racing School to Honda junior status.

Kota Tsuchihashi is the latest winner of the HRS scholarship, but will not be a Honda junior as he is sent to race in French F4.

The post ART GP’s Taito Kato to warm up for F3 with second go at FRME appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Super Formula

Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced its motorsport programmes for 2026, including which drivers it will be backing and powering in single-seaters.

At the top of the pyramid in Japan’s Super Formula championship, three Toyota-powered teams have signed rookies.

World Rally champion Kalle Rovanpera will join KCMG, Rikuto Kobayashi will race for TGM Grand Prix after contesting an event with Team Impul this year, and Charlie Wurz will drive the sole car of the returning Team Goh.

Kobayashi finished 16th on his SF debut at Twin Ring Motegi in April, with his main programme this year having been the third-tier Super Formula Lights championship where he was third in the standings after being runner-up in 2024.

He also raced in sportscar series Super GT’s GT300 class in 2025, coming third in the standings, and will be promoted to the top GT500 class next year with Cerumo.

Wurz, son of ex-Formula 1 driver Alexander, was Formula Regional Oceania champion in 2023 then was a race-winner in Euroformula before spending two seasons in the FIA Formula 3 Championship and coming 13th this year with two podiums.

He has some sportscar experience too, and will join the Super GT grid with the Toyota-powered Apr team in the GT300 class. Kazuhisa Urabe, who was 10th in SF Lights and third in the FRegional Japanese Championship this year, will joining Inging in Super GT300.

Wurz and his younger brother Oscar, who was 2024 Formula 4 Central European Zone champion and 18th in Eurocup-3 this year, will become Toyota juniors for 2026.

Their father was a World Endurance Championship race-winner with Toyota, and Oscar will race for TOM’S in SF Lights next year as team-mate to fellow Toyota juniors Kiyoshi Umegaki and Tokiya Suzuki. The pair came one-two in this year’s FRegional Japanese Championship, while in Japanese F4 the title was won by Suzuki and Umegaki was seventh in the standings.

Vacating his SF Lights at TOM’S is Yuki Sano, who was 2025 championship runner-up and finished ninth in the FIA FRegional World Cup-awarding Macau Grand Prix.

Next year the Toyota junior will step back down to FRegional, having won all four of the FRJC races he contested in 2024, full-time as he joins R-ace GP in the European and Middle East championships.

Toyota’s racing school runs a team in Japanese F4, and its line-up next year will consist of Masaki Hamabe, Buntaro Igarashi, Yuzuki Miura, Masana Muto, Ryo Sakai and Tomoki Terashima.

Of those six, only Miura and Muto will be Toyota juniors. They came 12th and 15th in the standings this year, each with one podium, and will have double programmes as they will also race for TOM’S in FRJC.

2026 TGR Driver Challenge Programme members (single-seaters)

The post Rikuto Kobayashi and Charlie Wurz land Super Formula seats for 2026 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: Japanese F4

The rivalry between Honda and Toyota continued in Japanese F4 this year, and title honours went to the latter

Over 14 races across six rounds, and five circuits, the next generation of Japanese racers did battle in their home country’s Formula 4 championship this year. Honda and Toyota, both now involved in Formula 1 once more as well as powering the cars in Japan’s top-tier Super Formula championship, each backed and ran several drivers and once again it resulted in a title.

After Honda junior Yuto Nomura had took home the crown in 2024, this time Toyota junior Tokiya Suzuki was the champion and while driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge Racing School.

The season started at Fuji Speedway on May 1-4 with a triple-header round and a 45-car grid.

Ryo Shirasaki topped the opening qualifying session of the year, setting a 1m45.885s to pip Kageyama Racing team-mate and Porsche Japan junior Itsuki Sato to pole by 0.092 seconds. Toyota junior Kiyoshi Umegaki was the next best driver, 0.427s off pole as 0.066s split third to sixth place. A second covered the top 12, with the slowest driver 5.423s off the pace.

Sunny conditions greeted the paddock for 2025’s first race, and there was drama from the off as Sato started very slowly and Shirasaki lurched forward then stopped.

Suzuki, from fourth on the grid, took the lead ahead of Umegaki while Sato dropped to fifth but was able to get up to third before the end of lap one. The slipstream available down the lengthy pit straight meant Suzuki never pulled away, and Sato made it a three-car group on lap five of 14.

Umegaki responded by going down Suzuki’s inside at turn one next time by, with Suzuki drawing back alongside approaching turn three but unable to pass. B-MAX Racing’s Tosei Moriyama joined the fight just before the safety car was summoned as debris was cleared from a two-car crash at turn 13.

Tokiya Suzuki

Racing resumed on lap nine and at turn one it was three-wide for the lead. Positions were held, while Syo Momose tried passing B-MAX team-mate Ayato Iwasaki for fifth at turn 13 but ended up losing two places.

There was no further battling up front before the safety car returned for the last two-and-a-half laps as B-MAX boss “Dragon”‘s stranded car was cleared from the turn one runoff. That secured victory for Suzuki, and meant Sato finished 11th as he had a five-second penalty for a start violation.

Shirasaki recovered to eighth, the place earned after it took several laps to pass Toyota junior Megumu Suzuki.

He had a chance at redemption in race two, having set a 1m45.935s to earn another pole by 0.116s over Sato. Tokiya Suzuki and Umegaki qualified third and fourth.

This time Shirasaki not only nailed the start but already had a big lead a few corners in, with Sato under pressure from several drivers behind. A turn one crash meant the safety car appeared on lap two, and Shirasaki ran away again once racing resumed on lap seven to win by 3.467s.

Moriyama was isolated in fourth, a position he took from Umegaki on the restart. Momose tried to go past on the inside too but they clashed, and he dropped to 20th.

Umegaki was instead passed by Honda junior Kotaro Shimbara and Ponos Racing’s Ryota Horachi, the 2024 Japanese F4 runner-up. The pair battled thereon, swapping places several times but that resulting in Umegaki getting back past them before the finish. However Horachi was classified fifth, as a five-second penalty demoted Umegaki to 10th.

Drivers’ race one fastest laps set race three’s grid, putting Sato on pole ahead of Shirasaki, Moriyama and Tokiya Suzuki.

Itsuki Sato

The poleman held the lead on the inside line into the opening corner, and Suzuki took third but Moriyama reclaimed it around the outside of turn three. It was three-wide for seventh heading to turn one the next lap, but the safety car was then called as five crashed cars needed clearing up.

Sato looked to the outside then the inside when racing resumed, and was alongside through turn one where two cars further back crashed. That led to another safety car interruption that ran to the end of a shortened 11-lap race.

The safety car accelerated away at turn 12 on lap 10, but Shirasaki came to a stop there with a drivetrain issue and seventh-placed Horachi also stopped with a fuel system. That meant the safety car had to remain out, and handed Sato victory.

Fuji also hosted round two on July 31-August 3, and this time Sato took a double pole. His fastest qualifying lap, a 1m46.341s, earned him race one pole by 0.158s over Shimbara, with Shirasaki trailing by 0.329s and Momose by 0.401s. Tokiya Suzuki was 10th fastest. Sato’s second-best laptime, a 1m46.375s, put him on race two pole by 0.224s. The top four was the same, and Suzuki was only 12th.

Race one had two formation laps due to a staller, then red flags waved half a lap in due to oil being laid down from the grid to turn two by Toyota junior Masana Muto. Sato had fended off an attack from Shimbara into turn one.

The race restarted behind the safety car 19 minutes later, and after two laps the field was released with four-and-a-half minutes left on the race clock. A turn one backmarker collision meant the safety car was summoned mid-lap, and the chequered flag waved a lap later. Sato earned half-points for victory, and a 40s penalty for overtaking behind the safety car dropped Suzuki from sixth to 38th.

The next day’s race ran green throughout. Shimbara went down Sato’s inside into the opening corner to take the lead, and on lap two Sato turned the outside there into the inside for turn three where he reclaimed first place.

Results round-up

The top three places were settled by the end of that lap, with Momose fourth. A charging Horachi, from seventh on the grid, was ahead by lap six. A lap three off sent Moriyama down to sixth, and Suzuki climbed up to seventh.

Round three at Suzuka followed on August 21-24, and Shimbara set the qualifying pace. A 2m08.212s earned him race one pole by 0.143s over points leader Sato, with OTG Motor Sports’ Kenta Kumagai 0.231s behind and Horachi a further 0.035s back in fourth. Suzuki qualified fifth, and a second covered the top 18.

Shimbara’s second-best laptime, marginally slower at 2m08.305s, delivered race two pole by 0.234s and this time Horachi was second. He edged Sato by 0.014s and Kumagai by 0.031s. Shirasaki qualified seventh and 12th, and a rules violation meant Moriyama had no laptimes count so started on the 15th row for both races.

Sato got alongside Shimbara into the first corner of race one, and stayed wheel-to-wheel until the poleman established himself ahead at turn three. Suzuki got up to third before the safety car was called due to a crash, and Shimbara weaved from turn 17 onwards ahead of the lap four restart.

It worked, as he was unchallenged while others fought behind. Horachi passed Kumagai for fourth into the chicane on lap six, then the safety car was needed again on lap eight.

Shimbara repeated his restart tactic for the final lap, but this time Sato was alongisde on the outside at turn one and that became the inside for turn three where he snatched the lead. Horachi tried going around Suzuki’s outside at turn 13 but went off and had to settle for fourth. Momose held off Shirasaki for sixth, Moriyama recovered to 16th and Drago Corse lost both of its drivers to crashes.

Shimbara, who was third in the 2024 standings, followed up three runner-up finishes with victory in race two. A crash meant the safety car interrupted lap one, and more drivers followed Shimbara in weaving before the lap three restart.

The field at Suzuka

Sato went straight past Horachi, who then had to hold off Momose into the final chicane. He slipstreamed past as lap four of 11 began, by which point Shimbara had a 1.5s lead and there was another 1.5s gap to third.

The safety car was needed again on lap six, and Shimbara was unchallenged on the lap nine restart. Racing was neutralised again a lap later due to two crashers at turn 15, locking in everyone’s positions to the end.

Akiland Racing’s Keito Matsui was hung out to dry on the outside at the chicane on lap four and fell from fifth to eighth, with Ponos’s Ryuma Sako then going around Kumagai’s outside when they reached turn one to take the position. But he went off at turn two and conceded three places, lifting Tokiya Suzuki to sixth.

Sato left Suzuka with a 39.5-point lead over Suzuki, with Shimbara the only other driver to have scored more than half of Sato’s 123.5-point tally.

Racing moved to Sportsland Sugo for round four on September 18-21, which was another triple-header.

Tokiya Suzuki claimed his first poles of the season, and by a comfortable margin. A 1m32.355s put him on top of the times in qualifying by 0.433s over team-mate Takahiro Kikuchi, then 0.042s split Sato, Kumagai and Megumu Suzuki in third to fifth place. Shirasaki was sixth, and Shimbara qualified 12th.

For race two, a 1m32.607s put Suzuki on pole by 0.279s. Kikuchi was second again, Sato trailed by 0.37s in third and Shirasaki pipped Kumagai to fourth by 0.006s. Shimbara’s final lap put him seventh.

A damp track, particularly on the inside of the grid, meant the safety car led a slick-shod field through the first two laps of race one. Suzuki instantly created a gap once racing got underway, as Kikuchi went off at turn one and rejoined in fifth then lost another spot.

Suzuki and Sato

Sato took second and was initially 1.2s behind, but by lap 11 he had cut the deficit to 0.434s and remained in Suzuki’s mirrors thereon. The lead fight ended on lap 14 of 17 as Ragno Motor Sport’s Kaoru Yoshida crashed out of 10th and triggered a safety car period than ran to the end.

Kumagai held third place throughout, with Megumu Suzuki initially fourth before Shirasaki took the position and pressured Kamagai for several laps. He was eventually shaken off, and TGM Grand Prix’s Leon Ochiai finished fifth ahead of Umegaki, Suzuki and Matsui, who was warned for clashing with Momose when defending. Kikuchi was 10th.

Puddles remained for race two, but slick tyres were used again and the safety car featured for the first two laps.

Suzuki’s early pace advantage was even more pronounced this time, although part of the reason he had a 3.7s lead by lap seven was down to Sato trying to go down Kikuchi’s inside at turn one on lap six and contact being made which sent Kikuchi spinning and meant he finished 34th.

Sato then chased down Suzuki, and was 1.488s behind when the leader rode some kerbs and almost spun on lap 15. That brought the gap down to 0.585s, and Sato was all over him on the final lap.

Shirasaki was a lonely third, then Sako, Kumagai, Shimbara and Matsui were fighting behind. Kumagai went off at the final corner on lap 11, which consigned him to ninth, and Matsui went around the outside of Shimbara through turn three on the last lap but a five-second penalty for dangerous driving dropped him from fifth to 14th.

Race one’s fastest laps set race three’s grid, and Sato beat Tokiya Suzuki to pole by just 0.046s. The safety car was utilised in the same way as the previous day, and Sato romped to victory.

A field of over 40 cars at Fuji

He was 2.1s clear when the safety car was called on lap 11 after Horachi’s overtaking attempt on OTG’s Miki Onaga for ninth at Horseback Corner led to them colliding and spinning. Four laps remained when green flags waved again, and Sato pulled away by 1.583s. Shirasaki and Umegaki were third and fourth, while Shimbara’s title homes were significantly diminished in 16th after also non-scoring in race one by finishing 13th.

Sato had a 32.5-point lead over Suzuki with two rounds to go, with Shirasaki 84 points back and Shimbara needing to win every remaining race and requiring Sato to score no more than three points and Suzuki no more than 36.

Their hopes ended in race two at Autopolis on October 18, as Sato collected his 10th successive top-two finish while Suzuki earned his fourth victory of 2025 (but only his fifth finish in the top two).

The title contenders didn’t contest race one on Saturday, as Japanese F4’s ‘champion’ and ‘independent’ classes were split for the weekend in qualifying and the races. Races one and three were contested by the latter, while the usual frontrunners were in races two and four.

Field Motorsports’ “Kentaro” set a 1m55.650s to take race one pole by 0.413s, with 0.085s splitting Nobuhiro Imada (B-MAX), Yasuhiro Shimizu (B-MAX) and Masayuki Ueda (Rn-sports) in second, third and fourth. “Kentaro” converted pole into victory with ease on Saturday, and Imada was way ahead of Ueda. “Dragon” was fourth, and there was one retiree in the 16-car field.

Second-best laptimes from Friday’s qualifying established race three’s grid for Sunday morning, putting “Kentaro” on pole again but by a tiny margin. His 1m56.080s earned him first place by 0.065s over Imada, with Shimizu 0.09s off pole.

It was incredibly foggy, and the safety car led the first six laps. After green flags waved, Imada went to “Kentaro”‘s outside of turn three, which became the inside for turn four where he took the lead. Shimizu and Ueda got past later in the lap, then the safety car returned on lap eight as “Dragon” and Rn-sports’ Isao Nakashima crashed out while disputing fourth.

The race ended after 10 of the scheduled 13 laps, with Imada victorious. In one weekend, “Dragon” had gone from being the class’s points leader to sitting behind “Kentaro” and Imada in the standings.

In the ‘championship’ class, most set personal bests after three or four laps in qualifying, with only one driver improving late on. Tokiya Suzuki was quickest, by a tiny 0.01s, after setting a 1m53.535s and Moriyama made a return to form by being second fastest. Sato was third, 0.233s back and 0.022s ahead of Muto and Shirasaki. Momose was 0.276s off pole in sixth.

Moriyama fared even better on second-best laptimes, taking race four pole with a 1m53.685s. Top spot was earned by 0.111s, with Shirasaki beating Sato to second by 0.005s. Momose and Muto were next up, and Suzuki qualified seventh.

Suzuki led race two lights-to-flag, while Moriyama had lost out to Sato, Muto by the opening corner then was wheel-to-wheel with Shirasaki until turn four where he nosed back ahead.

Shimbara started eighth and was past Shirasaki for fifth before the safety car appeared due to fluid on track. The field was released again on lap four, and Shirasaki took fourth in a three-wide move at turn one. He then stuck with Muto, while the top two streaked away. Suzuki was victorious by 6.675s over Sato, with Muto a further 1.95s behind.

On lap nine of 13 Momose passed Shimbara, who then slid off at the last corner and was overtaken by Horachi too.

Moriyama was outdone at the start again the next day, this time conceding the lead to Shirasaki immediately then running side-by-side with Sato until turn four where he braked later. Sato was forced to go wide, dropping to seventh then reclaiming a spot by passing Muto. Horachi was also sent wide during a multi-car squabble mid-lap, and Sato slipped through for fifth.

With no interruptions, Shirasaki was able to build a 5.969s lead over Moriyama, who had Momose, Suzuki, Sato and Horachi in a train behind him the rest of the race but without anyone attacking each other.

Ryo Shirasaki

Sato’s first podium-free race since the season opener led to his championship lead being reduced to 23.5 points ahead of the finale at Twin Ring Motegi on October 30-November 2.

Shimbara and Shirasaki outpaced the title contenders in qualifying, with 0.067s splitting the pair. Suzuki was 0.119s off Shimbara’s 2m00.232s pole time in third, and just 0.002s faster than Sato. Moriyama languished down in 18th, behind four ‘independent’ drivers including Ken Alex who was fifth fastest overall.

However the two classes had run separately, with the independents getting a grippier track, and Alex would lead their contingent from 30th on the grid.

It was a different story at the front when it came to second-best laptimes, and a late 2m00.637s earned Sato pole for the title decider by an all-important 0.055s over rival Suzuki. Alex was third fastest and 0.111s shy of overall pole, but would start 30th again and instead Shirasaki and Umegaki filled row two of the grid.

There was drama before race one began, as at the end of the formation lap Sato signalled he was unable to start his car and so a second formation lap was added while his car was wheeled into the pitlane.

Suzuki was hungry to capitalise from that stroke of luck to the maximum and he attacked Shirasaki into turns two and four on the opening lap. He got his move done, and Toyota junior Yuzuki Miura followed him through.

Later in the lap Horachi overtook Shirasaki too, while Sato joined the action but then stopped at the side of the track. Another driver spun, and the safety car was summoned on lap two to clear the two cars. Horachi had taken third before racing was neutralised, and the gap that had already opened up to the top two was eradicated.

Racing resumed on lap five of 12, and Umegaki was next to clear Shirasaki. He then lost out in a fight with Sako, while Umegaki escaped up the road and passed Miura mid-race.

Shimbara claimed his second win of 2025 by 3.924s, with Suzuki closing to within 5.5 points of Sato by finishing second.

“Kentaro” had entered the weekend 0.5 points ahead of Imada, with “Dragon” 15 points from the top. By finishing 29th, Imada moved to top of the ‘independent’ class standings by 9.5 points.

With the overall title contenders sharing the front row for the finale, the stakes were at their highest.

Suzuki made the better start and took the lead on the inside turn one but locked up. That allowed Sato to do a switchback and be on the inside for the second part of the twin-apex corner where he got ahead. Their rear wheels rubbed and Suzuki was sent over the outside kerbs, but he maintained speed and went down Sato’s inside at turn three. That led to banging wheels again at the exit, and Sato was sent far into the dirt of the runoff and after rejoining was down in 25th.

It looked like the title was now over for Sato, but both drivers got five-second penalties for contact and Shirasaki went around the outside of Suzuki at turn four for the lead.

The safety car was on track from laps two to four, and in the racing that followed Sato charged up to 13th before his penalty knocked him back down a spot. His title ambitions rested in how potent Suzuki’s penalty would prove, but it only dropped him from second to fourth so the Toyota junior clinched the crown by 6.5 points.

Shirasaki won, Umegaki bookended his season with second place finishes, and Miura made the podium after fending off Horachi. Kentaro finished 26th, and Imada beat him to the title by half a point by finishing 2.247s behind him in 27th.

2025 championship standings

In early October, Honda Racing School held its final scholarship selection test of the year at Suzuka and its principal Takuma Sato, a former IndyCar and Formula 1 driver, picked Kota Tsuchihashi to be a Honda junior in single-seaters next year.

The 18-year-old graduated from karts, where he represented Japan at the Motorsport Games, into his home country’s entry-level Super FJ category this year and will likely spend 2026 racing in either French F4 or Japanese F4.

The post How Toyota took back title honours from Honda in Japanese F4 this year appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Meritus GP

There was plenty of F4 racing in 2024, with career-launching campaigns accompanied by winter warm-ups

Middle East

The go-to winter series for several years now has been Formula 4 United Arab Emirates, which races at Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Autodrome. Prema’s Mumbai Falcons-branded cars were the ones to beat, and Italian F4 dominator Freddie Slater needed just two wins and four other podiums from 15 races to pip team-mate Kean Nakamura-Berta to the title.

Nakamura won the season opener in Abu Dhabi, which Yas Heat Academy’s Keanu Al Azhari started from pole, and Formula 3-bound Nikita Bedrin won for PHM Racing in the reversed-grid race. Slater won race three, and passed team-mate Alex Powell to make it two in a row in the opening race of round two. Al Azhari won the next two races, but Slater was on the podium in both to hold the points lead.

Bedrin turned pole into victory twice at Dubai, with Powell getting his sole win in the reversed-grid contest, and a double podium put Al Azhari on Slater’s tail in the title fight. A return to Abu Dhabi spiced up the season narrative in round four.

Prema’s Doriane Pin won race one from pole after on-the-road victor Nakamura was penalised for jumping the start, and Al Azhari and Slater collided on lap one. Although he was demoted to fifth, Nakamura still boosted his title chances.

Hitech GP’s Gabriel Stilp came through from sixth on the grid to dominate a wet race two, and all three title contenders failed to score. The weather was unpredictable for race three, and led to a mix of strategies. Al Azhari took the points lead by finishing third, as Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri won and neither Slater or Nakamura finished.

Nakamura took a double pole in the final round at Dubai, and after winning a dusty race one ahead of Al Dhaheri there was now a five-way title fight as his two main rivals could only finish fifth and ninth. R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny won the reversed-grid race, Slater pipped Al Azhari to fourth to become his main rival and Nakamura stayed in contention by scoring two points.

Photo: F4 UAE

Al Dhaheri immediately passed Nakamura for the lead in the title-deciding race three and all but ended his hopes since Slater was sat behind him in third. Focus then switched to Al Azhari, who lost the title to Slater by finishing eighth.

Running concurrently to F4 UAE was the inaugural Saudi Arabian F4 season, where all cars were run by Meritus GP. Federico Al Rifai won twice in the first round at Kuwait Motor Town (in Kuwait), while in round two at the circuit, Saqer Almaosherji, Al Rifai, Andrej Petrovic and Suleiman Zanfari shared the wins. Retrospectively it was made a non-championship event, so Qatar’s Losail circuit instead hosted round two in March and Al Rifai took another double.

Eventually races actually took place in Saudi Arabia, and three rounds were held in Jeddah over the course of 11 days. Petrovic took the points lead by winning twice in the first of the triple-header events, with Al Rifai’s title ambitions hurt by missing a race. However he moved back ahead with his own double in the next round, and when the results of race one in the final round was taken back by a lap [without explanation] it handed Al Rifai another win at the expense of Petrovic.

Although Petrovic won the final race, it was too late as Al Rifai wrapped up the title the day before in a race won by Zanfari.

Over the last month there has been further F4 action in the UAE with the Formula Trophy. Al Dhaheri was the star of round one at Dubai, remained unbeaten in qualifying for round two in Abu Dhabi but for the second time lost a win to a penalty, and then skipped round three. A double podium earned Evans GP’s Kai Daryanani the crown, but Prema’s Sebastian Wheldon stole the headlines with his race one win.

Spain

Formula Winter Series featured a combination of drivers warming up for Italian F4 and Spanish F4, and MP Motorsport’s Griffin Peebles was champion of the four-round tour of Spain. Jerez was more wet and wild than warm-up, and the wins went to Andres Cardenas (Campos Racing), Peebles and Juan Cota (Drivex School).

Photo: Gedlich Racing/Daniel Burgin

Cardenas left with the points lead, but further chaos at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit put Peebles ahead. Cardenas won a red-flagged race one, Peebles was victorious in a delayed and safety car-filled race two and US Racing’s Matheus Ferreira led home Peebles in race three. James Egozi appeared on the grid with Campos at Motorland Aragon, and was announced as joining the Red Bull Junior Team. He proved worthy of his Formula 1 backing by taking pole and a win, while Al Azhari came over from the UAE to do the same with MP. Rodin Motorsport’s single-seater rookie Thomas Strauven won race two.

Storms at Barcelona limited track action until race two, which Peebles won from pole. He was victorious again in race three to seal the title. MP’s Maciej Gladysz was third in the points, and would be the most competitive of FWinter Series’ full-timers in Spanish F4.

His team-mate Lucas Fluxa won twice in the opening round at Jarama, but actually crashed out of the second race he won, then never had another competitive showing over the season. Al Azhari came to the fore at Algarve in Portugal, then team-mate Mattia Colnaghi was dominant in the first two races at Paul Ricard in France. Gladysz won the third, and took another two at Aragon before Al Azhari returned to the top step of the podium to hold a sizeable points lead.

Cota went unbeaten at Valencia, and while Al Azhari and Gladysz both made the podium they also retired in race one due to colliding and each had another non-score. Colnaghi’s two podiums made him a more likely title contender, and he stepped up to that status by being the form driver thereon.

He won twice at Jerez to become points leader in theory, but Al Azhari also claimed a victory and went into the final round 13 points ahead after winning an appeal against a penalty at Aragon. In race one at Barcelona, Colnaghi soaked up a lot of pressure from his rival for another win, then moved ahead on victory countback by winning race two, before a track limits penalty for Al Azhari cost him a podium and handed Colnaghi a big advantage going into the decider.

Cota cruised to victory, not quite enough to deny Gladysz third in the points. Al Azhari had another off-track moment and this time went penalty-free despite moving ahead of Colnaghi, who became champion in fifth as Al Azhari came home third.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Two weeks prior, Valencia specialist Cota had claimed the Motorsport Games F4 gold medal at the track. He was pipped to pole by 0.007s in a damp qualifying session, but then won the qualification and main race.

North America

Starting, or rather ending the F4 action on this continent is NACAM F4 since the first three rounds of its 2024-25 season have already taken place. The Mexico-based series had issues with its switch from first to second-generation F4 chassis, delaying its season start by over four months and making it a multi-year schedule, and Jose Carlos Hernandez leads the way so far.

He won from pole in both races of the F1-supporting first round, team-mate Helio Meza bettered him twice at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed, and Alessandros Racing’s partnership with Campos Racing contributed to former W Series racer Nerea Marti joining their garage in round three this month. Hernandez took two more wins in Mexico City, but Marti pushed hard and took the second F4 win of her career.

United States F4 has also had an uneasy switch to Gen2 machinery, cancelling its first round and averaging just seven cars this season. The Australian drivers, Atlantic Racing Team’s Daniel Quimby and Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport’s Nicolas Stati, and the latter’s New Zealander team-mate Alex Crosbie, were usually fighting each other for victories and Quimby (who went unbeaten at Mosport in Canada) took the crown by just 4.5 points over Stati.

The older cars continued to run in the Ligier JS F4 Series (previously known as Formula Development), which had bigger grids and far more entertaining action. Scuderia Buell’s Teddy Musella won a third of the races and the title, and Crosslink/Kiwi’s Kekai Hauanio denied him pole twice and took four victories and four second places to be runner-up in the standings.

Fifth in the standings was Brad Majman, another of Crosslink/Kiwi’s Australians, and he went unbeaten at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

The same car is used by Formula Pro USA for its F4 Western championship, which cancelled its one-round winter series and also did not go ahead with its planned ‘Women Racing Series’ classification for female entrants. Majman and World Speed Motorsports’ Valentino Garbarino shared the wins in the first two rounds at Thunderhill Raceway Park. Kiwi’s Drew Szuch was the only other driver in round one, and World Speed’s Alexander Cornfeld their sole rival in round two.

Laguna Seca held the next two rounds, the first of which only featured Cornfeld and Garbarino. They took a win each, then Garbarino went unbeaten on the return visit as the grid grew to five cars. Jensen Global Advisors’ Athan Sterling finished second twice, and did the same at Sonoma Raceway where he finished last to newly crowned champion Garbarino.

Four drivers turned up to the Buttonwillow Raceway finale, and Garbarino led home Sterling twice more. Cornfeld finished third in race one, enough to earn him second place in the standings over the absent Majman.

The Skip Barber Formula Race Series ran using Mygale’s Gen1 car, and the title went to Andretti Global junior Oliver Wheldon. After a stellar karting career in the USA, the single-seater rookie wone nine races out of 14 but only very narrowly became champion since third-year driver Dean Lambros was just as consistent. He won four races and took four poles, and was only off the podium once while Wheldon went trophy-free twice. USF Juniors-bound Ryan Giannetta was the other winner.

Asia

The Honda versus Toyota battle occurs in Japanese F4 each year, and in 2024 it was a Honda one-two as Yuto Nomura was near unbeatable in the season’s second half and fellow junior Ryota Horachi consistently saw the podium to be title runner-up.

Despite the rivalry, it is the Toyota-linked TOM’S that is the spec engine supplier and its units were the big talking point of round one as 10 drivers were ruled out of race two at Fuji Speedway due to engine issues. After Toyota junior Yuki Sano won race one, Helm Motorsports’ Tosei Moriyama got the chance to turn his pole into victory with far more ease due to the absence of many of the drivers who would become the usual frontrunners.

Photo: Japanese F4

Nomura won both races from pole at Suzuka, Horachi and Drago Corse’s Hironobu Shimizu came out on top of a 37-car field on the return to Fuji, with Horachi taking the points lead, then Sano doubled up at a soaking wet Sportsland SUGO but only got points for one of those victories as he won a one-lap race.

The championship belonged to Nomura following that, going unbeaten at Autopolis (where rain caused a race to be cancelled) and Twin Ring Motegi then taking a fifth win in a row in the postponed Suzuka round that ended the season. That secured him the title, and Kageyama Racing’s Kotaro Shimbara rose to third in the standings by winning race two.

Chinese F4 was as entertaining as ever, while also mostly going overlooked outside of China. However it was a teenager from Sweden who beat all the locals to become champion. An F1 support slot at Shanghai attracted 27 cars to the season opener, and Blackjack Racing’s Alex Sawer and Fukang Jiang took the wins.

Venom Motorsport’s Oscar Pedersen won twice at Tianfu International Circuit, then had seven consecutive podium finishes at Ningbo and Shanghai to remain atop the standings while wins went to title rival Kaishun Liu (Black Blade Racing), Jiang, the returning Sawer and cameoing Mercedes-AMG F1 junior Yuanpu Cui.

The title fight went down to the final race at Zhuhai, with Pedersen and Liu each taking a win and a second place in the preceding two races. Black Blade’s Yuhao Fu dominated, his weekend lifting him from 10th to fourth in the points, Liu finished second with a diving penultimate lap pass and Pedersen became champion by finishing not far behind in fourth.

MP ran all cars in Indian F4, and ex-F3 racer Hugh Barter crushed the opposition at Chennai in round one.

The new Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, a temporary venue that had been a long-term ambition for the series and was designed to be raced on at night, hosted round two and Barter dominated from pole again in race one. That was held in the early evening, but race two was a proper night-time contest and Aqil Alibhai was victorious after forcing long-time leader Divy Nandan into a mistake on the last lap.

Photo: Indian F4

Barter did no more races, and on the return to the other Chennai track the points lead went to Alibhai as four different drivers won. Triple-headers at Kari Motor Speedway concluded the season in the final version of the calendar, with Alibhai going unbeaten in the first one then being crowned champion in a wet second visit to the track as Ruhaan Alva concluded a nine-race podium streak with two wins and a comfortable championship runner-up spot since Jaden Pariat was absent.

Australia

Currently in limbo is whether the opening FTrophy round also doubled up as the Australian F4 season finale. Originally ran from 2015 to ’19 by Motorsport Australia, the national championship was revived by new promoter Top Speed this year with second-generation Tatuus cars. The Bend Motorsport Park hosted rounds one and two, Sydney Motorsport Park had round three as the cancelled Queensland Raceway event went unreplaced, then the season was due to conclude with races at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit and at Dubai. The latter was down to Top Speed also promoting FTrophy.

But two weeks before the planned finale, the reveal of the all-Australian 2025 calendar was accompanied by the announcement that the AGI Sport team would take over as promoter and older cars would be reintroduced. Since then, Formula Scout has been unable to get a response from either promoter on the Dubai round’s championship status.

Regardless, the title was already settled by then as AGI’s James Piszyck had won the first nine races on home soil then did the minimum required to wrap it up at Sepang as Tiago Rodrigues, Cooper Webster and Daryanani won.

The older cars (both the Mygales previously used in Australian F4 and Tatuus chassis from abroad) were kept in use through 2024 in the AF04 class of the Formula Libre-style Australian Formula Open series. Car racing rookie Isaac McNeill (Volante Rosso) and Jayden Hamilton (Tim Macrow Racing) each contested five rounds out of seven, and McNeill went unbeaten in class until the final race at Phillip Island where Lachlan Evennett won. Evennett had taken a triple win at The Bend when he was the only entrant, with Hamilton doing the same at Sydney. McNeill took the title with ease thanks to his 13 wins.

Photo: Australian F4

Europe

F4 Central European Zone grew in popularity for its third season, and there was a big on-track rivalry between Jenzer Motorsport and Maffi Racing. Both titles went to the former, as Oscar Wurz became champion with a campaign built on consistency. He only won twice, both victories coming at the Slovakiaring, but 12 other podiums were enough for him to beat Maffi’s Kirill Kutskov who won at Balaton Park, Autodrom Most, Brno and then went unbeaten in the Salzburgring finale.

There were five other race winners, but Jenzer’s title outsider Max Karhan was the only full-timer amongst those. He took three victories on home soil in the Czech Republic, and compatriot Miroslav Mikes won at Most. The JMT Racing driver came fourth in the standings despite withdrawing from the final round, meaning AS Motorsport’s Michalina Sabaj was the only other driver to start all the races. Her best result en route to fifth in the points table was a fourth place.

The F2000 Italian Trophy had an F4 class this year, and Sergio Conti won it eight times.

F1 Academy

Supporting F1 at seven grands prix was the all-female F1 Academy, which was dominated by Rodin’s Abbi Pulling. The Alpine junior, a podium-finisher in Formula Regional when racing in the all-female W Series two years ago, was never off the podium and took nine wins, four second places and a third.

Mercedes junior Pin was best-of-the-rest in her first full year of single-seater racing after previously being a sportscar star, starting the season on top in Jeddah and winning two further times to be way ahead of Prema team-mate Maya Weug.

The battle in qualifying was slightly closer, with Pin taking five poles to Pulling’s 10, and she took four fastest laps in races while Pulling took six despite spending most of her time in clean air at the front.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Marti took four podiums to edge MP’s Hamda Al Qubaisi to fourth in the points table, her team-mate Chloe Chambers won race two at Barcelona after Pulling had an airborne moment and Williams F1 junior Lia Block – an established rallying and rallycross driver in the USA who is the daughter of late off-road motorsport star Ken – came eighth in her first full single-seater campaign.

To find out more about the 2024 seasons of Brazilian F4, French F4 and Nordic 4, keep an eye on the Formula Scout website during the off-season!

The post 2024 International Formula 4 season review appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Formula 2 race-winner Zak O’Sullivan has secured a seat in Super Formula for 2025, Toyota has announced.

O’Sullivan stepped up to F2 for 2024 with ART Grand Prix and won the Monaco feature race after a late pit-stop under safety car conditions as well as the sprint race at the Hungaroring. However, he vacated his seat before the final three rounds while sitting 14th in the standings, citing funding reasons, and was replaced by fellow Williams junior driver Luke Browning.

He was a late addition to the post-season SF rookie test at Suzuka this month with Kondo Racing and has now been named as a race driver for the team, replacing Kazuto Kotaka alongside Kenta Yamashita.

Kotaka, the 2022 Super Formula Lights champion, moves to TGM Grand Prix – which switches from Honda power to become a team for Toyota development drivers – together with Hibiki Taira, who was SF Lights runner-up in 2023 and contested four SF rounds last year for Team Impul in a car also driven by Theo Pourchaire, Nyck de Vries and Ben Barnicoat.

Impul welcomes an all-new line-up of Jota World Endurance Championship hypercar driver and former FIA F3 racer Oliver Rasmussen and long-time Nissan GT ace and 2017 Japanese F3 champion Mitsunori Takaboshi. Sacha Fenestraz, the 2019 Japanese F3 champion, returns to SF with TOM’S after two seasons in Formula E with Nissan.

Toyota has also confirmed plans for other drivers in its Driver Challenge Program, headed by F2 racer Ritomo Miyata. While Miyata will drive for ART in his second season in F2 – effectively replacing O’Sullivan – he will do with the support of a new collaboration between rival squad Hitech and Toyota, to be known as ‘Hitech TGR’.

Seita Nonaka, who finished third in his third season in SF Lights this year after being Japanese F4 champion in 2021, will serve as a reserve driver in SF alongside a racing campaign in Super GT’s GT300 class.

Rikuto Kobayashi will continue in SF Lights with TOM’S after finishing runner-up in 2024 having graduated to the series as Japanese F4 champion.

For Jin Nakamura, who was runner-up to Kobayashi in F4 and fourth in SF Lights this year, there will be a switch to Formula Regional with an R-ace GP drive in the Middle East and European championships.

Frenchman Esteban Masson will resume his single-seater career in SF Lights with TOM’S alongside an LMP2 drive in the European Le Mans Series. The 2021 French F4 and 2023 Eurocup-3 champion has gained Toyota support after racing a Lexus in WEC’s GT3 class and testing its hypercar this year.

Yuki Sano also joins SF Lights with TOM’S after finishing fourth in Japanese F4 and winning four races from as many starts in FRegional Japan.

Kiyoshi Umegaki and Tokiya Suzuki, who finished seventh and 10th in Japanese F4, will add FRegional Japan programmes alongside continuing in F4, where they will be joined in the TGR-DC Racing School line-up by Yuzuki Miura, Takahiro Kikuchi, Megumu Suzuki and Masana Muto.

The post Zak O’Sullivan makes Super Formula switch as Toyota reveals line-ups appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: KSP

French Formula 4 champion and Honda junior Taito Kato will move up to Formula Regional with ART Grand Prix in 2025.

Kato was confirmed as French F4 champion just last month after a messy end to his title fight with Yani Stevenheydens in the deciding round at Paul Ricard in October.

Stevenheydens appeared to have claimed the title in the final race, only to later be handed a 10-second penalty that dropped him to 11th in the results and made Kato champion by six points.

The championship outcome was then subject to an appeal by Stevenheydens and the Belgian federation – not against his race three penalty, but countering the overturning of a three-second penalty awarded that had originally been awarded to Kato for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on his way to winning race one. This appeal was ultimately dismissed by the French federation, leaving Kato as the champion.

The 17-year-old Japanese driver will contest the FRegional Middle East Championship with ART at the start of 2025 before embarking on the European series.

“We are delighted to welcome Taito to the team,” said ART boss Sebastien Philippe. “His performance and attitude have impressed us, and we believe he has the potential to deliver great results in both FREC and FRMEC. We are excited to work with him in this crucial phase of his career.”

Honda will send Rintaro Sato, son of former Formula 1 driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, to race in French F4 next year after he was named as winner of the Honda Racing School scholarship. Sato Jr finished eighth in Japanese F4 this season in his first car racing campaign.

Kotaro Shimbara was also chosen as a HRS scholarship winner, as runner-up in the competition, and will drive for Honda Formula Dream Project with B-Max Racing in Japanese F4 in 2025. Shimbara finished third in Japanese F4 this year behind HFDP drivers Yuto Nomura and Ryota Hirachi while driving for Kageyama Racing, having previously competed in the series in 2022. Sho Momose, another HRS graduate, will be his team-mate.

Honda has confirmed that Nomura will step up to Super Formula Lights for HFDP with B-Max Racing.

Elsewhere in FREC, Trident has named Matteo De Palo as its first 2025 signing. The Italian driver came 17th in the points in his rookie season with Sainteloc Racing – with a best finish of fourth – after finishing fifth in Spanish F4 in 2023.

Sainteloc’s first announced driver is Tim Gerhards, who placed 20th in Spanish F4 this year with Monlau Motorsport, while Van Amersfoort Racing has confirmed it will retain Pedro Clerot, who ended his rookie campaign eighth in the points.

The post French F4 champion Taito Kato to race in FRegional with ART GP appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Honda junior Yuto Nomura clinched the Japanese Formula 4 title with his fifth successive win in the final round at Suzuka.

In his second season in the series after previously racing in French F4, Nomura took the points lead off teammate Ryota Horachi when he started his winning streak at Autopolis in October, before he then opened up a 41-point advantage with a hat-trick at Motegi.

It was Horachi who claimed a double pole position in qualifying, where he was 0.272 seconds faster than Nomura, but it was Nomura who made the better getaway at the start of race one to take the lead while Horachi went side-by-side with Yuki Sano through the opening corners and ultimately fell to third.

Nomura established a lead of around 0.7s in the early laps before the safety car was required after “Dragon” spun into the gravel at 130R on lap four of 11. The race restarted on lap 8, but an incident at the hairpin involving two more independents class drivers, Isao Nakashima and “Kentaro”, brought the safety car straight back out.

One lap remained at the restart, with Nomura doing enough to beat Sano by 0.606s and secure the title with a race to spare.

Horachi completed the podium, with Kotaro Shimbara fourth ahead of Tosei Moriyama while Rintaro Sato took sixth after a last-lap side-by-side battle with teammate Kento Omiya, who locked up and went off at the Casio Triangle, falling to 11th.

In race two, Horachi held the lead at the start as Nomura challenged him around the outside of the first corner, while Shimbara got the better of Moriyama in a battle for third and soon began pressuring Nomura.

The safety car was deployed on lap two after Omiya spun into the gravel in the S Curves out of eighth place.

Kageyama Racing driver Shimbara, who returned to Japanese F4 this year after a year out, immediately attacked Nomura at the restart and was past for second place before even turning in for the first corner.

Behind, there was a crash that put Ryo Shirasaki, Hironobu Shimizu and Kazuhisa Urabe into the gravel on the outside of turn one, bringing the safety car out once more.

Just three laps remained at the restart and Shimbara instantly pressured Horachi, who responded to win by 2.198s. However, Horachi was later disqualified when his car was found to be underweight, handing Shimbara his maiden win.

Shimbara – recently selected together with Sato as a winner of the Honda Racing School scholarship for 2025 – had already done enough to take third place in the final standings away from Toyota junior Sano, who was ultimately classified fifth in the last race.

Results round-up
Race 1 (11 laps)
1 Yuto Nomura HFDP 30m20.390s
2 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS +0.606s
3 Ryota Horachi HFDP +0.990s
4 Kotaro Shimbara Kageyama Racing +1.675s
5 Tosei Moriyama Helm Motorsports +2.308s
6 Rintaro Sato Ponos Racing +3.557s
7 Hironobu Shimizu Drago Corse +3.764s
8 Ryo Shirasaki Bionic Jack Racing +4.341s
9 Kiyoshi Umegaki TGR-DC RS +5.013s
10 Rio Shimono Dr. Dry Racing Team +5.778s
Pole: Horachi, 2m06.737s
Fastest lap: Nomura, 2m07.705s

Race 2 (11 laps)
1 Shimbara 29m56.659s
2 Nomura +1.387s
3 Moriyama +1.926s
4 Umegaki +3.100s
5 Sano +4.042s
6 R Sato +4.558s
7 Tokiya Suzuki TGR-DC RS +4.879s
8 Kenta Kumagai OTG Motor Sports +5.308s
9 Itsuki Sato Drago Corse +6.412s
10 Shota Sakai TGM Grand Prix +6.590s
P: Horachi, 2m06.775s
FL: Moriyama, 2m08.198s

Championship standings
1 Nomura 236   2 Horachi 167   3 Shimbara 153   4 Sano 147   5 Moriyama 99   6 Shimizu 97   7 Umegaki 78   8 R Sato 70   9 Kento Omiya 68   10 Suzuki 47

The post Yuto Nomura crowned Japanese F4 champion with fifth straight win appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Honda junior Yuto Nomura put the Japanese Formula 4 title in reach with three wins at Twin Ring Motegi.

There were five practice sessions to kick off the weekend’s action, and Nomura set a 1m58.242s to lead Kageyama Racing’s Kotaro Shimbara by 0.018 seconds and fellow Honda junior Ryota Horachi by 0.064s. Helm Motorsports’ Tosei Moriyama was 0.182s back in fourth.

The cancelled race from the previous round at Autopolis was added to the schedule as race one, and in qualifying for that Horachi set a 1m57.713s to claim pole by just 0.066s over Shimbara. Nomura himself was only 0.14s off pole in third, and Bionic Jack Racing’s Ryo Shirasaki in fourth led a group of drivers who were over half a second off the pace.

Qualifying for race two followed, and Horachi was fastest again. This time he set a 1m57.786s, pipping Nomura by 0.094s and Shimbara by 0.171s. Shirasaki again made his way into fourth, 0.484s slower than Horachi this time.

Shimbara snatched the lead at the start of a very wet race one, and Nomura got into second then quickly looked for a way past. At several corners he tried getting alongside the leader but a lack of grip led to him getting crossed up a few times. When he finally did seem to make a move stick, Shimbara had enough traction to then stay alonside for several more corners before eventually Nomura dived his way past late in the lap.

Horachi got past too soon after, then Toyota junior Yuki Sano dived down Shimbara’s inside at the first corner of lap two. Ponos Racing’s Kento Omiya was next to attack him, but racing was then neutralised by the safety car due to several spinners. The restart occurred on lap eight as rain continued to fall, and Ponos’s Rintaro Sato went way off into the gravel but was able to rejoin. Shimbara lost further ground, and ended up battling with his team-mate before the safety car appeared again and the rest of the race ran under yellow flag conditions.

Race two was also wet, and Horachi was beaten off the line by Nomura and Shimbara as Shirasaki also started slowly and dropped back. Pressure was put on the leader through lap one, but he began to pull away slightly after that as Omiya kept close to Horachi.

The closest battle was for sixth, between Toyota juniors Kazuhisa Urabe and Kiyoshi Umegaki, but that was interrupted on lap five by usual frontrunner Tosei Moriyama getting stuck in the run-off at the last corner after two cars clashing ahead led to him going off.

Racing resumed on lap eight and the battles immediately heated up. Urabe and Umegaki passed Shirasaki before another safety car intervention. The next restart was on lap 11, and the Toyota juniors were fighting once more. They briefly made contact, but held their positions, as Nomura won again.

Drivers had a dry track for race three, and Nomura had pole. Shimbara and Horachi went wheel-to-wheel for second through the first sector of lap one and Horachi just held on, as Sano sat right behind him too. At turn 12 Shirasaki pulled off an amazing move, then the safety car appeared on lap two due to a crash.

Racing resumed on lap five, and a lap later Urabe suffered a terrifying crash in which his car speared off track then barrel-rolled. He was later confirmed to be without any serious injuries.

The safety car was needed again, and there was only one lap of racing following that. Sano immediately passed Horachi, and Nomura held on up front for another victory.

Results round-up
Race 1 (10 laps)
1 Yuto Nomura HFDP 30m33.739s
2 Ryota Horachi HFDP +0.244s
3 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS +1.449s
4 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +2.297s
5 Ryo Shirasaki Bionic Jack Racing +2.738s
6 Kiyoshi Umegaki TGR-DC RS +3.672s
7 Kotaro Shimbara Kageyama Racing +6.010s
8 Itsuki Sato Drago Corse +6.460s
9 Hironobu Shimizu Drago Corse +7.398s
Pole: Horachi, 1m57.713s
Fastest lap: Umegaki, 2m17.931s

Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Nomura 31m25.617s
2 Shimbara +1.534s
3 Horachi +2.605s
4 Omiya +3.375s
5 Kazuhisa Urabe TGR-DC RS +4.399s
6 Umegaki +4.844s
7 Sano +5.579s
8 Rintaro Sato Ponos Racing +8.276s
9 Rio Shimono Dr. Dry Racing Team +12.170s
10 I Sato +15.192s
P: Horachi, 1m57.786s
FL: Nomura, 2m13.373s

Race 3 (12 laps)
1 Nomura 30m37.055s
2 Shimbara +0.672s
3 Sano +2.266s
4 Horachi +2.647s
5 I Sato +5.286s
6 R Sato +5.389s
7 Tokiya Suzuki TGR-DC RS +5.610s
8 Umegaki +6.227s
9 Shimizu +7.297s
10 Shirasaki +7.317s
FL: Nomura, 1m58.978s

Championship standings
1 Nomura 193   2 Horachi 152   3 Sano 119   4 Shimbara 116   5 Shimizu 91   6 Tosei Moriyama 74   7 Omiya 68   8 Umegaki 64   9 Sato 54   10 Suzuki 41

The post Honda’s Nomura homes in on Japanese F4 title with three Motegi wins appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Honda junior Yuto Nomura won the sole Japanese Formula 4 race at Autopolis at the end of a wet weekend in which multiple sessions were cancelled.

There were six practice sessions over Thursday and Friday, and Nomura set the pace. A 1m52.897s on the second day of track action put him 0.05 seconds ahead of Toyota’s in-form junior Yuki Sano, with fellow Honda junior Ryota Horachi 0.231s behind in third.

Kageyama Racing’s Kotaro Shimbara was a further 0.052s back in fourth, with the top eight completed by Toyota juniors Kiyoshi Umegaki and Tokiya Suzuki, and Itsuki Sato.

Wet weather meant that both qualifying sessions and race one on Saturday were cancelled, and the practice order had been used to set a grid for the race that did not go ahead.

It instead was used for race two on Sunday, which took place under dry skies but on a damp track so the safety car led the field through the first lap. Helm Motorsports’ Yotaka Toriba spun out while behind the safety car, prompting the safety car to stay out for two more tours.

Nomura got a jump on the pack when green flags waved, and the top 18 (the championship class drivers) mostly ran in formation through lap four. Shimbara passed Horachi for third on lap five, and soon had a queue of cars behind him.

Drago Corse’s Itsuki Sato just held off Ponos Racing’s Kento Omiya through the first sector of lap seven after plenty of side-by-side action, but once Urabe was ahead after that there was no response from Sato and he was quickly gapped.

It was a similar story up front, with the top two gapping themselves from Shimbara who had his mirrors filled by Horachi.

Nomura never came under any serious pressure from Sano, despite the pair staying close, and won by 0.608s. Shimbara was 5.472s behind in third, leading home Horachi who lost the points lead to the race winner.

Race result (13 laps)

The post Yuto Nomura takes Japanese F4 lead with victory at Autopolis appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Japanese F4

Toyota junior Yuki Sano won two Japanese Formula 4 races at Sportsland SUGO, although only got points for one of his victories.

It marked a return to form for Sano, who won the season opener from pole then went two rounds without a top-five finish. Last weekend he stepped up to Formula Regional Japan at Fuji Speedway and made an immediate impact by taking pole and victory in both races. He hoped that would provide momentum for his F4 campaign, and it proved to be the case.

OTG Motor Sports’ Kenta Kumagai was the surprise pacesetter in the first set of practice sessions by 0.007 seconds over Honda junior Yuto Nomura, then in the wet conditions of the second group of sessions Nomura led Toyota junior Tokiya Suzuki by 0.546s.

Sano came to the fore in qualifying, which was also wet, setting a 1m42.135s to take race one pole by 0.274s. Ponos Racing’s Kento Omiya was second fastest, with team-mate Rintaro Sato and Bionic Jack Racing’s Ryo Shirasaki the only others within a second of pole.

Drivers’ second-best laptimes set race two’s grid, and Sano claimed pole again. A 1m42.433s put him 0.222s ahead of Omiya and 0.833s clear of fellow Toyota junior Kazuhisa Urabe. Honda’s points-leading junior Ryota Horachi qualified seventh and fifth for the two races.

The track was still sodden and visibility was poor when race one began, so the safety car led the field for four laps. “Yugo” retired in the pits at the end of lap one.

When green flag action began, Sano was brave enough to brake late into turn one despite not knowing how much grip he would have at racing speeds. Shirasaki spun a few corners later, then lost another place to a great around-the-outside move by Kumagai.

The top three of Sano, Omiya and Sato pulled away from the rest of the field, and on lap six Makio Saito spun but got going again so no yellow flags were required. At the final corner Sato swept past Omiya for second.

On lap eight their battle was paused by the safety car returning so spinner “Kentaro” could have his car cleared. The field was released again on the final lap, and Sano kept Sato at bay to win.

Omiya was gapped in third, Urabe had to hold off Suzuki and Toyota junior Kiyoshi Umegaki took sixth from Nomura after an agressive side-by-side battle. Horachi only had two points taken out of his lead by finishing eighth. Shouma Arimura was a few places behind before spinning out.

The 34-car field was split into two on Sunday, as it remained wet, with the drivers usually fighting to top the independent classification getting their own race. They got to lap five of running behind the safety car before red flags waved and the race ended with worsening rain and half-points being awarded.

The Championship class fared even worse, with just one-and-a-half laps behind the safety car before red flags terminated proceedings and made it a points-free race.

Results round-up
Race 1 (12 laps)
1 Yuki Sano TGR-DC RS 30m04.086s
2 Rintaro Sato Ponos Racing +0.575s
3 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +2.826s
4 Kazuhisa Urabe TGR-DC RS +5.237s
5 Tokiya Suzuki TGR-DC RS +5.543s
6 Kiyoshi Umegaki TGR-DC RS +6.775s
7 Yuto Nomura HFDP +9.467s
8 Ryota Horachi HFDP +10.396s
9 Kotaro Shimbara Kageyama Racing +10.980s
10 Tosei Moriyama Helm Motorsports +12.129s
Pole: Sano, 1m42.135s
Fastest lap: Omiya, 1m43.282s

Race 2 [Independents only] (3 laps)
1 Nobuhiro Imada B-MAX Racing 9m09.698s
2 “Dragon” B-MAX Racing +1.331s
3 Ken Alex Buzz Racing +4.208s
4 Isao Nakashima Rn-sports +5.618s
5 Masayuki Ueda Rn-sports +7.619s
6 Makio Saito Akiland Racing +10.285s
7 Shoichiro Akamatsu Eagle Sports +11.402s
8 Masayoshi Oyama Akiland Racing +13.326s
9 “Kentaro” Field Motorsports +15.903s
10 Hachiro Osaka Dr. Dry Racing Team +17.241s
P: Imada, 1m48.553s
FL: Yutaka Toriba, 2m46.347s

Race 3 [Championship class entrants only] (1 lap)
1 Sano 3m03.408s
2 Omiya +0.720s
3 Urabe +1.735s
4 Nomura +3.004s
5 Horachi +4.029s
6 Sato +5.003s
7 Suzuki +6.189s
8 Shimbara +7.641s
9 Moriyama +8.430s
10 Umegaki +9.981s
P: Sano, 1m42.433s

Championship standings
1 Horachi 95   2 Nomura 93   3 Shimizu 87   4 Moriyama 74   5 Sano 65   6 Shimbara 59   7 Omiya 40   8 Umegaki 34   9 Sato 36   10 Urabe 27

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